Filter



C. A. BROWN.

FILTER.

AFPLICATION FILED AUG.25. 1916.

Patented July 5, 1921.

UNITED .sTArBS enr NT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. BROWN, or LORAIN, OI-IIO, ASSGNOR OF ONE-THIRD To' GEO BARI,

AND ONE-THIRD TO ALBERT B. WQOD,

BOTE OF NEW ORLEANS, IOUISIANA.

FILTER.

TO (cZZ w 71.077?, it may concem i Be it l-:nown that I, CHARLES A. BROWN; a

a citizen ofthe United States, resding Lorain, in the'county of Lorain and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Filters; and I do herebv declare the following to be a full, clear, aiid exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. 5

My invention relates to apparatus for filtering water, such as is more particularly adapted to be used todilter water in large quantities .to be supplied to large Corporation's,towns orc1t1es,etc; V

One of the objectsof my lnventon 1s to I provide. means for facilitating the cleansing of the filtering material, which generally consists of various sizes of such substances assand and gravel, 'and which may bemore or less thoroughly graded by hydraulic action,=the"coarser "particles at the bottom and the fine'r particles nearer the surface, the wholeconstituting the filter bedof what s commonly known as a mechancal filter.

As* is well'knowmthefilter bed is employed as a support for the bridging action ofcoagulated matter carried by the water to be filtered.` The coagulated matter, being coarser than'the interstices between the sand particles, bridges the nterstces and formsa strainer, much finer than the 1nt erstices of the sand bed itself, which retalns additional coagulated matter and other purities. Fhe `water passing through ths very finc-pored mlneral screen s purfied thereby and as it is continually brngng'additional coagulated matter to said screen, which is deposited therein, the thckness of this very finely porous filtering medium is being constantly increased; 1th ncreasing thickness of this layer comes an ncreasin* resistance to the passage of water through it until eventually the reslstance becomes too great to be overcome e'conomcally. 'The filter mustthen be washed and when so washed it s desirable that all or neurly' allfof the coagulated matter shall be carried away from the filter by the wash water, and it is highly important that if anv coagulated matter is not so carried away and remains on the surface of the sand, that it shall be in a very finely divided state, so as to be ,carried away the next time the Specification of Letters Patent.

iwashing, but this is objectionable because the cost of installing and maintaining, ofdriving the rakes is great.

I; am awarealso that othermethods, such as forcing air upward through the'sand or filter beds, either before or during the application of. the wash water, have been widely used, but this has not proven entirely satisfactory and -is gradually losing favor. Other attempts, such as larger Volumes of wash water, have also been made, but have proven expensive in first cost and more or lessfunsatisfactory. When carelessly used, which often happens, this last named method causes lo'ss of sand and eXpense to replace it.

Furthermore, the use of very rapid rates in -washing tends to lift the sand higher than a low rate. This means the spaces between the sand particles are increased and less attrition between the sand grains obtained during the wash, and, therefore, there is a less tendency for'the sand particles to clean themselves of adherng coagulated matter than wherelower rates of washing are emplo ed.-

aim to provide means whereby the action of the wash Water facilitates friction between the sand particles, so that the frietion of 'the sand particles against themselves and the means employed will increase preferably in proportion to the quantity of wash water applied, and also to prevent the wasting of the 'sand at any practical rate of washing.

Another object of my invention is to cause each unit of wash water to ;Carry away 'the largest possibleload of impurities caught by the filter while filtering, thus reducing the quantity of 'wash water required to cleanserthe filter and reducing the cost of washing. i v

Other objects of my invention and the inand Patented July 5, 1921. Application filed August 25, 1916. Serial No. 116,?75.

into larger masses 50 v v which maybe ajsewer.

i vention, itself will be probably better underi shown in Figs. 1 and 2.-

the embodiment shown shown at'10,`the side walls being illustrated i Vstood from a descriptlon of anembodiment; 'of my'inventiom Fgure 1 is a sectional View ofan embodiment of my nventon.

Fig. 2 is a second sectional viewtaken at' right angles to Fig. 1. i

Fig. 3 is' a plan view of the embodiment Referring now to the drawings, an d to therein, the filter is i at 11,' the bottom at 12 and the ends at 13.

WVhileI have' shown a rectangular filter, it'

willbe understood that any suitable form or shape of filter may be employed; The.

sand bed is shown at 14, extending in the embodiment shown from the bottom to 'the' sand line 15. A pipe 716 enters the filter through an opening 17 in thewall ofthe filter and -conveys the water to be filt'ered into the filter; The flow into the `filter is controlled by 'a ;valve 18. In the bottom of I through' the filterbed through an opening 22 in 5 passes outward to a provided a manitolds to asmother manifold pipe 21 leading i the wall of the which* the filtered t water the filter there are shown at 19 connected Q which is connected'to af filter 'and through clear water reservoir, and ;from which it may be delivered to a distant point 'or distributed as desired. -The water, passing downward through'the strainer heads' shown at' 24,

which are here shown as mu'shroom shape'd and provided wtha plurality of openings "inthetop A i At 30 is shown a source of wash water under pressure, which may be *from* a clear water reservoir or a is connected by a pipe 31 to`the'pipe21 leading to the manifold at the bottom of the filter. A the outlet 23 and thejunction 29 of the pipes 31 and 21, and a valve 27 is provided' in the pipe 31.

The wash troughis shown at 32. A pipe 33 is shown leading through the Wall of the filter at 34 into the' trough 32, throughwhich the waste water 'fiows to a' destination 35,

A'valve 36 is placed in the pipe 33, preferably just outside the wall 11 of the filter. v

I provide means for caising the sand par ticles and the impurtes caught by the filter which are fioated and separated by the upward rush' of the wash water while washing t to' be brought together and made to grind against each other and against other obagglomeration of the 'im purities is prevented or broken up 'and the' sand particles are sooured, of adherng jects whereby any purties. *The impurities being thus disinvtegrated into very small particles are readily carried away to the Sewer bythe wash water destination, such as a 'enters the manifold* pump. The source 30' Valve 26 is provided'bet'ween while the ,sand is thoroughly cleaned and retained in the filter. i v K Inthe form shown; this means`conssts of a plurality-ofplates, shown' at`40 and 41. These plates are inclined to the walls of the filter, the plates 41 being inclined in one direction and the plates, 40'in ,another direction Each ofthe plates 40 is so arranged with respect to a plate 41 that a relatvely small opening is left at 42 in what mi ht be termed the bottom of a trongh formed by each plate 40 and-'41. Larger openings 43' are' formed between the tops of the adj'acent troughs, =as shown togood advantage in .Fig. 2. The plates'are preferably arranged to be raised and lowered in 'the filter, within certain limits', and in the ,embodment illustrated, the ends of *the plates are connectedthrough oables 47 over nulleys 48 to some means -for 'rasing and `While I have 'shown these' as Inovable by derstood this is only` for convenience in ad'- justng the height above thesand levelwhen lteringfl In service they are fixed in one position* and: naintainec V immovably' and'could, it` 'desredybe placed i in one position and maintained there* with no although this in 'that ;position provison to move i them,

would not be quite 'as convenient when it was clesired to get atiandinspect the sand lowering them, such as windlasses 50 operat- :ed by cranks 51 1n awellknown manner.

*means of the' device shown, 'it must be un i bed. A filter controller is shown diagrammatic'ally at* GOand-a clear water reservoir at 61. i

The operation 'of the-"embodimentof my r When it "is desired' tofilter water valves 18 and -26 opened; `The water tobe filtered flows-in through 'the pipefl, the water level in the filter being maintained' at or about a definite level, passes down wardly to the surface' of the sand between the plates through the openings 42 'and 43. Owingto thearrangement of the plates most oi' the fiowwill pass through'the openings 43 whilea -considerable Volume' of water'in a more quiet state wllalways be" over each `pair 40' and 41, of plates. The

quiet or semi-quiet conditioniof this water ,will have atendency to cause sedinentatiou on the top side ofeachofthe' plates 40 and 41, and there'forer may r cause the troughs formed by each pair 40 and: 41 ofplates to inventionshown i-n the drawings is as fol i lows: i

'the valves 36' and 27 ar closed" and' the 10 i become partia-Hy; or even completely filled with coagulatedmatter 'if thequantity' ot 'V coagulated matter n the waterto-be filtered' is very large.

creases and the time comes when the filter bed must be washed; that is, the impurites caught by the sand must be 'removed from the filter. The valves 18 and 26 are then closed and the valves'27 and 36 opened. lVash water from the source 30 flows through the duct 31 through the manifolds and up through the-sand bed over the side 6 ofthe wash trough into the wash trough 32 and out through the duct 33. Under this ups ward rush of washwater the sand bed lifts and liquefies in a well known manner. e This,

unaided, will carry away many of the impurities if they be in" a very finely divided state, but if they be agglomerated into masses of consderable size, the washing is imperfectly done and the masses of impurities thus agglomerated will remain in the filter, causing trouble in many ways.

Many of the' impurities are such as to agglomerate into masses of considerable size and have caused trouble When first formed, they are quite small, sometimes not much over one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. By accretionthey may grow to larger masses, known commonly as mud balls, of irregularshape, sometimes,

measuring an inch or more in their major dameter. Although readily broken up in the first stages, they become more resistive as they grow in size. i i

'The wash water lifting and liquefying the sand bed carries these mud balls up with it, but not sutficiently 'high to allow the mud balls to enterthe wash trough and be removed, or 'if this does occur, a great deal of sand is carried away along with the mud balls and wasted.

In the embodiment illustrated the litting of the sand bed and the mud balls therewith causes both the sand and the mud balls to be lifted above the top of each pair of plates 40 41, the major portion at the start rising through the contracting passages 91 terminating at 43. The flow upward through 42 andthe'expanding passages 90 communicating therewith being small, the velocity of upward flow at the top and insideof such expanding passages 90 is small; in fact, the water is practically quiescent. The sand spreading from the upward flow throughthe openings 43 spills into the quiet 'water in `the troughs, which has insuficient velocity of at many points flow to support it therein; consequently, it falls into the passages 90 and passcs downward through the opening 42 back to be again caught by the upward flow and lifted through the passages 91 and ,through the cycle again.- The opening 42 may be restricted so as to offer some resistance to the Volume of sand tending to pass downward. The trough within a few seconds then becomes loaded, sand being heaped above the top'of the trough insthe center and working back through the opening 42 to be again caught and lifted into the trough. The grinding of the sand particles :against each other and the sides of the plates results in an action ot the sand with and against any mud balls of any size, and this action is suficient to disintegrate such agglomerations and also to cleanse the sand very thoroughly. The disintegration of the mud balls into eXceedingly small particles' enables the wash water at proper velocities to lift and carry these upward to the topof and'into the wash troughs and from there they are carried to the sewer and away from the filter. In doing this, the rate of washing can be made so low as to keep any of thesand from wasting. i

The breaking up of these agglomerations of impurities enables the etficiency of the wash water to be largely increased and, therefore, decreases the cost of cleaning the filter, as well as increasng its efticiency a filter. V

.I prefer to arrangethe plates at an angle, greater than the angle' of repose of the filter sand in water, so When the wash water is shut off, all the sand in the troughs will return to the filter bed. I also pretor to use the form of attrition members consisting of plates 40 and 41 which I have illustrated.

The rubbing or attrition effect of the particles may, of course, be varied by changing the velocity of the wash Water. V It will, however, be understood that various and numerous departures may be made from these and other details, as well as from the particular embodiment shown, without departing from the spirit of my invention, this particular embodiment having been shown to better enable meto describe the invention.

I claim 2- i 1. In a filter, the combination of a filter bed of sand or like material having a normal filtering level below the top of the filter, a wash trough and means located below the wash trough and above the normal filtering level of the filter bed *for causing the particles of sand or like material used in the filter bed to rub together. r

2. In a filter, the combination of a filter bed of sand or like material having a normal filtering level below the top of the filter, a wash trough and means located below the wash trough and above the normal filter level a particles' of sand or of the filter bed for causing the particles of sand or 'like material used' inthe filter bed to rub together and apparatus for i causing a flow of fluid through the filter to carry the y similar material used in the filter bed back and forththrough said means, said sand returning to thefilter bed at the close of the operation.-

'3.In a filter,` the co bination of a filter bed consistng of particles ofsand orlike maz'terial, a wash trough,' means for carrying a wash; water through the filter bed and apparatus below the wash trou'gh in the pathof the flow of the wash water for causing the filter bed particles to move at various veloce ties within the'filt'er. i a

- 4. In a filter', thecombination of a ilter bed composed of particles of a suitable'filtering material, a wash trough, means for con ducting wash water upward through said filter bed at a velocity sufiicient to 'movesaid particles, and means below saidwash trough forreducing the Velocity ofthe'wash water carryingsaid particles below' the point at which it is capable of carrying said particles.`

. ''In a'filter; the'combination of affilter bed composed of particles of sand or like ma terial, means for introducing the wash 'water atthe bottom' or near the bottom otthe filter bed, saidwash water being introduced 'under i r conditions under'which it bears upwardly ,with-it the {particles co'm'p'osing the filter 'bed, neans interposed in 'the path of the wash water through the filter provided with a fplu ralityfof passages, some .of which are wider and some of which are narrower ati the bottom than at the, top and means for conducting thewash' water from the filter. a

6. In a filter, the combination of: a filter bed composed of'partclesbfsand or like material, means for introducing wash water to the filter at ornear the'hottom ot the filter: bed under conditions under which the par ticles of 'the filter bed are carriedupwarch with the wash water, a; plurality of troughs in the path of the wash water,. some of the' troughs being wider and somebeing 1121 11 rower at the bottom than at the top, said' troughs 'being adjacent each other 'so that the matter passing upward through one may "pass downwa rd through the other, a wash trough and means for permittng the :wash

troughsswater to fiowthrough said wash troughfrom th' filter atterithaspassed through said 37; In a* filter, the combin'ation of a filter bed composed of particles 'of sand or like v material, meansto introduce wash water at r or near the bottom 'of -the`fi1ter bed under ,conditions under 'which it carr es with it the:

'Goj r particlesromposing the filter bed and the particles of jim'purities thereim a i pl-u'rality of plates each of which is' inclined to th'e horizontal' interposed 'in the path ofthe; wash water through thefilter the alternate and eachcontracting passage beingnext Vadacent -a passage of opposite-kind, 'avash E trough n* the filter 1ntoj ;wh1ch the wash plates being inclined in'opposite directions, a wash trough in said 'filter above'said plates and a ductftor communicating with the wash trough tor removing the wash' water from' particle'svcomposing the-filter bed andthe particles of impurities there'ni, a plurality of plates' each! of which is i-nclined' to the horizontal interpose'd inth'e path of the i wash water through the filter, the alternate plates being inclined in opposite directions, a wash-trough in said filter above said plate,' a duet forcommunicating with the wash trough tor removingthe wash water from] the filter, and apparatus for changing the elevation of said platesin' said'filter.

In' a filter, the combination of a filter bed; eomposed of particles of sand or like i materiaLsaid bed having a normal filtering level below thetop of thefilter; means' for introducing at or near the bottom-ot the filter bed wash ai'ater un'der'conditions under i which 'it carries 'upward with it inits pas i sage throughfthe' filter the particles' comi .posing the filter bjcdandany 'impurities therein contamed; means above the normal levelof the filter bed' andin 'the'pathflo'f the 'wash water carrying said particles provded wth apluralitynt passagesfor the water carrying such particl'es,'. sonepof the 1 p a'ssages expanding 'and others 'contracting in'the general direction of flow of suchwash passage being next adj'acent apassage of opposite' kinh a wash trough in 'the-filter a into which* the 'wash waterfiows afterit "water,' eacheXpandingand reach contra-cting v passes saidineans anda duct for conyeying' the. wash water froni the filter.

10. Ina filter, the comb'naton afatit&

bed, composed of particles of sand'or' lik e material; said bed having ,a normal filtering level below the top ofthe filterymeans fon introducing 'at or, near the bottom i of the filter bed washwater under conditions under which' it carries upwardfwith' it ini itslpassage through the filter the; partie/les composcontained, meansahovethe normal level of* the filter 'bed and inthepath otthe wash water 'carrying 'said particles i a i plurality ing the filterbed andanj impnrities'therein of passages for the water carrying such par- V tioles, some' of the passages expandingand others'contracting in the igeneraljdirect on 01% i i flow of such ;wash water, each V expanding water fiows atter it passes said means a duet `forconve'ying the ;wash water' from the r filter, and apparatus for movii gfsaid means.

11. In a filter, the combination of a filter bed composed of particles of sand or like material having a normal filtering level below the top of the filter, means for intr0- ducing at or near the bottom of the filter bed a supply of wash water under conditions under which in passing upward through the filter it carries with it part of the way at least the particles composing the filter bed and any impurities contained therein, means located above the normal filtering level of the filter bed comprising a plurality of passages for the wash water, some of which are contracted and some of which are expanded from bottom to top in the line of flow of wash water through the filter, said pessages being alternated so that on each side of each contracting passage there is an expanding passage, and on each side of each expanding passage there is a contracting passage, a wash trough in said filter and means to convey the wash water from the wash trough away from the filter.

12. In a filter, the combination of a filter bed composed of particles of sand or the like, apparatus to introduce at or near the bottom of the filter a supply of wash water under conditions under which it rises in the filter carrying with it the particles composing the filter bed and any particles of impurities therein, means comprising a pluralty of pairs of plates set at angles to each other to form a plurality of alternate contracting and expanding passages for the wash water as it passes through the filter, a wash trough in said filter and means to permit the wash water to fiow from the trough to the outside of the filter.

13. In filtering apparatus, a retaining box, a bed of filtering material therein, conduits beneath said material adapted to Convey water, a grating above said bed having a plurality of passages converging upwardly, a plurality of additional passages alternately arranged in respect to said first mentioned passages and convergng downwardly.

14. In filtering apparatus, a retaining box, a bed of filtering material therein, conduits beneath said material adapted to convey water, a grating above said bed having a p1urality of passages converging upwardly, a plurality of additional passages alternately arranged in respect to said first mentioned passages and converging downwardly, the

openings in the divergng end of said first mentioned passages being larger than those of the second mentioned passages, whereby the streams in the first mentioned passages carry sediment and deposit it in the second mentioned passages.

15. In filtering apparatus, a retaining box, a bed of sand in said box, conduits in said sand, a plurality of'bars spaced above said bed and incli'ned laterally in alternate directions, whereby a plurality of passages diverging in opposite directions are formed, the passages converging downwardly being of less cross section at the constricted end than those converging upwardly, and means for admitting wash water to said conduits whereby the water passes upwardly at greater velocity through the last mentioned passages and deposits sand in the other of said pas sages. e

16. In filtering apparatus, a box, a bed of sand, conduits in said sand, means for admitting water above said bed and for withdrawing it through said conduits, means for sending wash water in a reverse direction through said conduits and said sand, a plurality of spaced troughs arranged above said bed with the apices extending downwardly, said troughs having narrow openings in said apices, the sides of adjacent troughs forming passages that converge upwardly, whereby the major part of the wash water passes through said passages and'deposits sand in said troughs.

17. In filtering apparatus, a box, a bed of sand therein, a wash trough above said bed, conduits in said bed, means for admitting water above said bed and for withdrawng it through said conduits, means for sending wash water in a reverse direction through said conduits and said sand, a plurality of spaced troughs arranged between said bed and said wash trough with the apices extending downwardly, said troughs having narrow slits in the apices, the walls of adjacent troughs forming passages that oonverge upwardly, whereby the major part of the wash water passes through said passages and deposits the sand in said last mentioned troughs. e

In witness whereof I have hereuntosigned my name this 21st day of August, 1916.

CHARLES A. BROWN. 

